Hey!
So my decision to make these mixtapes monthly has come back to bite me on the bum a bit because it turns out there’s a LOT of good music around at the moment, and I’ve already got twenty songs I love well before autumn is over.
So this season, you can have two mixtapes! This is the first and is full of lots of soulful music to warm your soul and comfort you.
As always, I really appreciate every visit and read. I really hope you find something you love.
Marc
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Tiny Habits – Love Ruins Everything
Tiny Habits are my find of 2026 – a folk-pop trio from Boston with heavenly harmonies, emotive folk and soulful pop, as exemplified here. This song is just pure joy with its flourishes of brass, rich harmonies, hooky melodies and soulful tones. Check it out!
Filed Under: Heavenly harmonies • Brass flourishes • Pure joy
Tiny Habits – Mudroom
Yes, Tiny Habits again, but with a completely different vibe. ‘Mudroom’ is a track about being hurt in past relationships and carrying that hurt into a new relationship. It’s one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard. The guitar work and vocal tones are so haunting, and it’s blissfully autumnal in nature. Gorgeous.
Filed Under: Haunting guitar work • Past relationship scars • Blissfully autumnal
Janet Jackson – One More Chance
A real deep cut, this! A track originally by her brothers, The Jacksons, Janet was reportedly asked by its writer and lead vocalist, Randy Jackson, to record it. It ultimately didn’t make the cut for 1993’s iconic Janet album but was released as a bonus track and is a fan favourite. Janet’s version is superior to her brothers’; her soft vocals are a perfect match for the song’s gentle nature, while Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis’s slightly updated ’90s production really elevates it. The real reason for it being superior, though? Janet’s harmonies; an overlooked strength of hers. A gorgeous song.
Filed Under: Overlooked gem • Soft vocals • Gorgeous harmonies
Carly Rae Jepsen – Patience, Power, Passion
Carly Rae Jepsen’s new album Day & Night is excellent. Its generous two discs are a joy for fans, and I love how Disc 1 (Day) is driven by 1970s-style psychedelic pop with raw instrumentation, whereas Disc 2 (Night), in contrast, is looser and more dance-driven. This track is one of my favourites; a wonky, thumping pop-house triumph with an affirmative, chant-like hook (‘patience, power, passion’) over a hypnotic bounce and frolicking synths. It explores the physical and emotional temptations of a relationship and is a pop masterpiece.
Filed Under: Wonky pop-house • Hypnotic bounce • Affirmative hooks
Beabadoobee – Sun Has Set
I LOVE this powerful and furious pop-punk hybrid with its ‘fuck you’ tone, distorted guitars and ’90s alternative undertones. I’ve loved Beabadoobee since the beginning, and whilst some of her music has left me along the way, she’s back with a bang on this brilliant track.
Filed Under: Furious pop-punk • Distorted guitars • ‘Fuck you’ energy
Charli XCX – Camera
The new Charli record unfortunately isn’t for me at all, but this song is the one highlight for me; an infectious electropop bop with glitchy guitar samples and repetitive lyrics. Lyrically, it explores her relationship with filmmaking and acting and is, without a doubt, the album’s standout moment.
Filed Under: Glitchy electropop • Infectious hooks • Album standout
Rossi and Jazzy – High On Me
A seductive and pulsating tech-house banger from British house DJ and producer Rossi and Irish dance-pop vocalist Jazzy. It’s minimalist in nature, dark and euphoric, with its hypnotic groove, giggling synthesisers and samples.
Filed Under: Seductive tech-house • Dark euphoria • Hypnotic groove
Tom Aspaul – Weekend Ghosts
This is a triumph of a song by Wolverhampton singer-songwriter Tom Aspaul. A techno banger, ‘Weekend Ghosts’ is a song about getting older, realising friends have left the party scene and questioning whether your time on the dancefloor is over. With hooky melodies, a funky bass line and thumping beats, it’s the perfect blend of moody lyrics and dancey musicality.
Filed Under: Dancefloor nostalgia • Funky bass line • Moody lyrics
Nothing But Thieves – Baby Kool (Evelyn)
I loved Nothing But Thieves when they first came on the scene. Since then, I’ve dipped in and out of their music but still enjoy them. This high-energy rock track has one foot in grunge and the other in glam, and it works perfectly. So much fun!
Filed Under: Grunge meets glam • High-energy rock • So much fun
Matt Cardle – Broken
I still follow 2010’s X Factor winner Matt Cardle’s music career because he is a brilliant and underrated artist. His latest album, The Great Escape, is a return to form with excellent songwriting and his usual powerful and distinctive vocals. When listening, I was shocked to hear the opening piano riff on this, recognising it as a track from one of my favourite singer-songwriters, Eg White (responsible for many brilliant tracks for Adele and Will Young, amongst others), from many moons ago! Turns out Matt loves it and decided to record it for his latest record. This was always a brilliant track, and Matt’s version is excellent. A gorgeous triumph of a song.
Filed Under: Underrated talent • Beautiful songwriting • A gorgeous cover
Ellie Goulding – Jealousy
Ellie’s latest album is great, and this is one of my favourite tracks from it. Co-written by Before You Exit members Conor and Riley McDonagh (a band I love a lot who seem to have found their success in songwriting), this is a moody electropop record on which she presents jealousy as a toxic and inescapable third person in a relationship, set against swirling and pulsating electronic textures that mirror the song’s anxiety and paranoia.
Filed Under: Toxic jealousy • Pulsating electropop • Anxiety and paranoia
Jungle – Sunshine
Jungle’s new record is once again brilliant and full of uplifting, retro-leaning, soulful music abundant with irresistible, repetitive hooks. This is one of my favourites from the album – a sunny, uplifting track with an infectiously cheery, repeated piano hook over raw instrumentation and the refrain of ‘We’re supposed to feel like sunshine, loving with you, we’re supposed to feel like sunshine, all we can do’. A joy!
Filed Under: Sunshine-soaked soul • Irresistible piano hook • Retro joy
Tyla – Hot Tubs
I’ve liked Tyla since her success with ‘Water’. The new album is good, with this being a standout for me. An alternative R&B track with trap influences, this is moody, brooding and sensual, with lyrics focusing on luxury, romance and partying over detuned synths and unstable beats.
Filed Under: Alternative R&B • Moody and sensual • Unstable beats
Raye – Joy
Hearing this song on the radio on my commute to work is the best feeling. A song which perfectly encapsulates the emotion it describes, ‘Joy’ is an ambitious, uplifting and soulful track with elements of gospel. It’s a force to be reckoned with, driving forward with its almost frenetic percussion and James Brown’s spoken vocal sample of ‘Mr Ray, are you somebody?’ taken from Damn Right I Am Somebody by Fred Wesley & The J.B.’s. The song concludes by answering the sampled line with ‘I declare I am somebody’. Beautiful!
Filed Under: Uplifting gospel soul • Frenetic percussion • Self-affirmation
Mimi Webb – Eyes Closed
This is a fun and perfectly poppy track about the inability to move on from an ex-lover. I like the song’s energy, slick retro feel and its simplicity. A great song!
Filed Under: Slick retro pop • Moving on • Infectious energy
George Benson – Breezin’
Somehow, I kept hearing this everywhere, which made me sit up and listen properly for the first time. An instrumental jazz/lounge-pop track, it was originally written by Bobby Womack and performed by Gábor Szabó before this better-known version was recorded, with George Benson adding the song’s now-trademark ‘Da-da-da-da-da-da-da DUH-daaa!‘ guitar lick. It perfectly encapsulates a carefree, sunny day with the breeze in your hair.
Filed Under: Breezy jazz-pop • Signature guitar lick • Carefree sunshine
Cleo Sol – Together
I’ve long loved Cleo Sol’s beautifully simple yet wonderful music. Her new album Gentlewoman is simply lovely from start to finish, with songs comprising little more than lush piano chords, percussion and jazzy guitars. This is one of my favourites.
Filed Under: Lush piano • Jazzy guitars • Beautiful simplicity
Cleo Sol – Honest Talk
This stunning acoustic guitar-led slice of neo-soul is full of jazzy chords and feels like a summer’s dream. Sometimes the simple things are the best things.
Filed Under: Acoustic neo-soul • Jazzy chords • A summer’s dream
Tiny Habits – Belt Loop
Another gorgeous song from Tiny Habits, this time featuring a lovely, jazzy piano motif around which the rest of the track is built. It’s jazzy and soulful with gorgeous piano chords and heavenly harmonies.
Filed Under: Jazzy piano motif • Heavenly harmonies • Soulful beauty
Tiny Habits – Towel
This bouncy, percussive track is fun and jolly musically but lyrically documents a tumultuous relationship in which a person feels disrespected by their partner.
Filed Under: Bouncy percussion • Bittersweet contrast • Tumultuous relationship
Beabadoobee – Estranged
I love the chorus on this alternative ’90s-inspired track, full of pop-punk guitars and Bea’s signature sweet melodies. A triumph of a track!
Filed Under: ’90s alternative • Pop-punk guitars • Sweet melodies
Carly Rae Jepsen – Soft
Another track from Carly’s brilliant Day & Night album. Taken from Disc 1 (Day), this is a mellow, autumnal track with live percussion, psychedelic guitars and a driving bass line. It’s lovely and gentle with a city-pop-like feel.
Filed Under: Psychedelic guitars • Autumnal softness • City-pop feel
Jamie Miller – Babydoll
Yes, this song has been everywhere, mainly due to that dance, but I just think, above all, it’s a lovely track with great vocals, a lovely lilting beat and an anthemic chorus. A really lovely song which deserves the hype.
Filed Under: Lilting beats • Anthemic chorus • Lovely vocals
